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DShK 12.7mm Machinegun
The '''DShK 12.7mm Machinegun '''is a heavy weapon that is seen throughout the Metro. Normally employed at checkpoints or heavy defensive positions as a way of dissuading attackers and dealing with mutants, infantry, and vehicles alike. It is the single heaviest weapon in Metro 2033 in terms of damage, leaving even the Heavy Automatic Shotgun (its smaller cousin) in the dust. This strength is offset by the weapon being completely immobile, and usually having a limited ammunition capacity. History The DShK is a 12.7mm, gas-operated, belt-fed, air-cooled heavy machine gun that fires from an open bolt - and in automatic mode only. The gas piston and chamber are located below the barrel; the gas piston is of the long-stroke type, and is attached to the bolt carrier. The gas chamber is fitted with a gas regulator, which requires a special wrench to make adjustments. The bolt, of generally rectangular cross-section, locks into the receiver with two outwardly pivoting flaps. These flaps are pushed outwards from the bolt to lock it by the enlarged firing pin, which in turn is operated by the vertical projection on the bolt carrier. The rear of the receiver houses two spring buffers, one for the bolt and one for the bolt carrier. The heavy barrel is finned for better cooling, and is fitted with a large muzzle brake. The barrel can be detached from the weapon, but it hardly can be called “quick detachable”; it is screwed into the front of the receiver, and then fixed there by the cross-bolt, which is also screwed in place. The ammunition feed is accomplished via non-disintegrating steel belts, from the left side only. The belt feed unit was designed as an afterthought for the originally magazine-fed DK machine gun, so it is clamped to the top of the receiver. It consists of a squirrel-cage type wheel which is operated by a swinging arm at the right side of the gun. This arm, in turn, is operated by the reciprocating round projection, which is located on the right side of the bolt carrier. The belt enters the circular feed unit at the top, and 12.7x108mm cartridges are carried clockwise (when looking from the rear of the gun). Upon discharge, the bolt carrier goes back on its recoil stroke, pulling the belt feed hand and rotating the feed wheel by 1/6th of a turn. Upon rotation, the belt is pulled across the unit, and cartridges are stripped down from the belt pockets by dual claw-shaped strippers. Once the cartridge reaches its bottom position in the feed unit, it is stripped forward into the chamber by the bolt. On more modern guns, the belt feed uses simplified slider-type belt traction unit, also powered through the swinging arm, and somewhat similar in design to the feed of the RP-46 gun. Spent cartridges are ejected down through openings in the receiver and bolt carrier. In manual (ground and AA) applications gun is fitted with dual spade grips at the back of the receiver, and a dual trigger. The charging handle is also shaped as a spade grip, and is located horizontally below and between spade grips. Standard sighting equipment is an open sight adjustable for range (up to 3500 m in 100 m increments) and windage. Additional anti-aircraft sights can be installed for AA use. The standard mount is an universal setup, which can be used for both ground and AA roles. Designed by Kolesnikov, this mount consists of a detachable two-wheel base and three folding legs, which form the tail-boom for ground applications and are extended to form a tripod for AA applications. Kolesnikov mounts were issued with heavy armored shields, but crews often discarded shields to save some weight and to decrease the gun profile when firing from wheels. In the AA role, both wheels and shield were detached from the mount, and an optional shoulder support could be installed. Tactics and Use The Mounted Machinegun is an incredibly powerful weapon. One shot from its heavy-caliber rounds can kill a human or Nosalis and send it flying, while only 3 rounds are needed to punch a Demon out of the sky. Its superior range and punch are offset by glaring drawbacks, however: First, it is immobile. The Mounted Machinegun cannot move from the vehicle or emplacement it is set up at. This is made worse by the fact that the gun is sluggish in aiming due to its weight and that is doesn't have very effective sights. Second, the Mounted Machinegun can overheat. A gauge on the side indicates how much it can fire; if it overheats, the gun is incapable of firing until it cools to safe levels. This is done to prevent the barrel from melting or being knocked out of alignment. Thirdly, most Mounted Machineguns have limited ammo, due to 12.7mm ammo being rather scarce. The gun is useless once unloaded and cannot be reloaded. Some have infinite ammo, however (such as the one mounted on Pavel's Railcart). Do note, however, that these machineguns still overheat like normal DShKs. Despite the Mounted Machinegun's weaknesses, it's absolutely lethal and should be exploited when available. Unfortunately, the player will most often find enemies using them more than Artyom. One last thing to note: Don't get hit by one; it's as lethal to Artyom as it is to others. Constant use of cover and quick bursts of fire at the operator are recommended. Appearances *Market. Several but none are useable. *Cursed. Only one, is usable by the player. *Frontline. Several ones, all are useable, but hardly useful by the time the player gets to them. *Trolley Combat. Mounted on the rail car, the only weapon in the level. *Defence. Only one, cannot be used by the player. *Dark Star. Flamethrower from the final version was intended to be a machine gun, which Miller refers to in a Russian dub. Related Achievements Trivia * Several of them have mounted searchlights in Frontline. * Killing 15 enemies with it unlocks the Heavy Metal Achievement. * On average, there are 50 Rounds in each ammo box. * On Trolley Combat, The machine gun has unlimited ammo. Category:Weapons Category:Metro 2033 Category:Metro Last Light Category:Real World